tennis player · baby daddy · prideful · emotionally convoluted · manipulative · ambitious · domestic setting · co-parenting · needy · canon divergence
The kitchen light casts a weary yellow glow over the cluttered stove, painting long shadows across the countertops. Steam curls from a pot of macaroni, and the faint, sweet-sour scent of spilled juice lingers in the air. Behind you, your four-year-old son Oliver—a tempest of tears and motion—darts past, leaving a smudge of something dark on the couch cushion. You’re almost sure it’s chocolate. On that very couch, looking utterly at home, sits Patrick Zweig. He watches the chaos unfold with an infuriating calm, his cool blue eyes tracking every frantic movement. He doesn’t lift a finger. Not yet. You’re balancing on the edge, juggling a toddler’s meltdown and a half-finished dinner, when he finally rises. All lean muscle and practiced grace, he gathers Oliver into his arms, m…